The Silver Empress
by Nagisa Maeda
Summary: In her raged filled state, during her final battle against Priscilla the awakened being in question took drastic measures in a panic with unforseen consequences... For her anyway. With knowledge and power she will take the world by storm. How much will she be able to truly change though? Godlike!Clare - Raki!bashing
1. Chapter 1 - Second Chances and Changes

**The Silver Empress -**

* * *

 **Nagisa – Heya kittens! I would like to take this chance to apologize profoundly for not updating my stories for a few months. I have had a bit of writers block and its frustrating.**

 **On top of that my phone, which I use to type my stories on, crashed and deleted all of my phone memory.**

 **Anyway I have decided to write a Godlike!Clare story because I am fed up of seeing godlike Raki Fanfictions.**

 **Let me just put this out there now as a warning. I hate... No. DESPISE RAKI. I am gonna be honest with you now and say, Raki** **WILL!** **Be bashed at the beginning because that will most likely be the only part of my story that he will be in.**

 **Also! Clare will have a higher rank and its a time travel fic. I am planning to have her sent back in time with all of her potential and powers.**

 **If you hate Clare and love Raki, leave now because you will most likely not like this.**

 **Here we go. Enjoy reading my first fanfiction where there will be quite a bit of curb stomping.**

 _ **Revised - 26/05/18**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer – Nagisa Maeda does not own Claymore, its characters or its storyline.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Confusion and Time Travel. Wait... WHAT! –**

* * *

Clare stared with rage filled golden eyes. Gripping the handle of her claymore tightly as she glared at the centre of her rage and hatred. Letting out a primal roar that shook the earth beneath her's and the other warrior's feet her yoki aura rose and she charged forward towards the still regenerating Priscilla. Thinking she had finally got the upper hand she was looking for, she charged, unaware of the yoki Priscilla was building up.

At that current time Priscilla wasn't responding to anything around her. To them it seemed that her regeneration was getting quicker and better as it was used but to her it was the complete opposite!

Right when Clare was about to slash at the monster's neck, a huge concentrated whip like yoki structure tore through the air flying right past Clare's head.

Then something unfathomable happened. The thin layer of yoki that Clare had surrounding her at all times had expanded when she began to push her limits.

Time seemed to slow as the whip like yoki collided with Clare's own yoki. A massive explosion followed upon impact. A tearing sound was heard, so loud it was almost deafening.

Everything after that was a blur. All Clare felt was an intense pull from behind her. She saw her friends and comrades shouting something but nothing reached her ears. She watched as their expressions became frightened and sorrowful. The last thing she felt was an excruciating pain throughout her body and then her world went black.

* * *

 **Unknown Location – Clare's P.O.V –**

* * *

All of the muscles in my body burned, like I had just fought a battle with Ophelia or Riful! Everything around me was bathed in an eerie darkness. I could hear the faint hum of a voice that sounded vaguely familiar but I could not make out any words.

It was as if the voice was... Calling me in some way but not by name. Like a pull on my energy as it synchronises with another... But what was causing it?

I want to know... I have to know! With that final thought my once non-cooperative eyes snapped open and, within an instant, I was scanning my surroundings with a keen eye.

It took a minute but I soon realised I could not feel my yoki aura like usual. It was strange... As if I had taken yoki suppressants' but worse. It was like being human again!

* * *

 **Normal P.O.V –**

* * *

A scrape of metal on rock caught Clare's immediate attention. Spinning around she came face to face with the one scene in her life she would _never_ want to relive.

In front of her was a being amidst awakening which she recognised to be Priscilla! In front of _her_ stood the one person in the world she truly cared for.

It was now that Clare decided to inspect her current form. If she was to have assumed correctly then at this current time she wasn't even a warrior yet. Raising her hands to eye level she gasped. They were so small!

Moving her arm slightly she could see her reflection in the shiny arm protector she wore. In the reflection staring back at her was a short girl with long brown hair with bright green eyes and fair skin. Reaching her arm up she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Deciding that now was definitely not the time or place to be looking at herself. Turning back to the battle she couldn't stop the tears that sprung to the corners of her eyes threatening to fall.

It was horrible. She knew Teresa was going to die but she couldn't do anything without spouting things she shouldn't know.

Teresa slowly approached the still, sobbing half-awakened form of Priscilla as she raised her sword to kill the being before her. "All I can give you is a swift beheading. I'm sorry it had to come to this but you are far to inexperienced to be drawing on that amount of your yoki powers"

Placing her other hand on her claymore, she raised it slightly higher and was about to bring it down when Priscilla grabbed the forgotten blade next to her and sprang forward.

Teresa stared down at the place where her hands and Claymore had once been in undisguised shock. She only had a second to feel anything before Priscilla sliced off her head with a strong swipe of her claymore.

Clare didn't even try to stem the tears falling down her cheeks as she watched her mother figure's lifeless body fall to the ground.

Clare knew what happened next but it was all a blur able she grieved for a second time. Irene had her left arm cut off and both Sophia and Noel where killed with swift painful blows to the head and torso. She ignored it, even when the one horned _monster_ walked past her at an infuriatingly slow pace before flying off into the distant mountains.

Walking forward on wobbly, unsteady legs she made her way over to Teresa's body. Dropping to her knees she cradled her head in her lap and shed all her pent up emotions. It all came back to her. Her old friends and comrades were no longer that.

Knowing she couldn't just sit there of fear of missing Rubel she forced herself to get up and began walking at a fast pace keeping her eyes cast to the ground she walked on.

Just as last time by the time she got to the town people, adults and children alike backed away from her in fear. It's not everyday you see someone let alone a child walking along with a severed head.

Hearing the worried whispers fade slightly behind her she looked up for the first time since she began her trek. There, right in front of her, was the man clad head to toe in black known as Rubel.

Running as fast as her legs would carry her she soon caught up with the tall man. Said man turned with that same smile she would always see stretched across his face.

Slightly glaring at the man she nearly said in a raised tone. "Do it. Put it inside me now!" she shouted all the while holding Teresa's head out in front of her for him to see.

He stretched out his hand for hers and she quickly complied by placing her hand in his. With this, she sealed her fate and future but she swore to herself she would be better this time. So much better.

* * *

 **Time skip – 1 week –**

* * *

It had been a very long, painful week for Clare so far. She had forgotten the pain the transformation caused her. But what would sitting around crying do? She promised herself that she would be stronger this time.

Forcing herself to her feet, she picked up her unmarked claymore and walked out of her open cell. If she was to become stronger, she needed to train. Train more than she ever had before. She had all knowledge of her's and her past comrade's techniques.

Irene's Quick Sword, Jean's Drilling Sword and Helen's improved version, Flora's Windcutter, Miria's Phantom technique, as well as her Sensing abilities. Maybe she could even try to learn Galatea's yoki manipulation. If she could master these, even to only a certain degree then she knows she would be stronger.

Her eyes hardened at the thought of being weak. She finally reached some sort of training room full of dummies. Lifting her claymore with quite a bit of difficulty she soon decided that she would need to make herself some sort of training schedule.

This is her training schedule –

* * *

4:00 – Meditation to control yoki flow

4:30 – 500 Swings on each arm. With weights on each arm (10 pounds)

5:30 – 100 Laps of the training room. (15 pounds on each leg)

6:30 – Breakfast

7:00 – Sparing with other trainees.

8:00 – Studying anything and everything

10:00 – Stretches to gain more flexibility

11:00 – Train yoki sensing

13:00 – Any Organization training

18:00 – 500 swings on each arm (10 pounds on each arm, 15 on each leg, 20 on sword)

19:30 – 100 Laps (15 pounds on each limb)

21:00 – Meditation and yoki sensing

22:30 – Sleep

/ Repeat /

* * *

To others in her generation of trainees this may seem extremly hard for a beginner but they seem to forget that with their new yoki they heal much quicker than they did as a human.

This continued for about a month before she changes it to 1000 swings with 100 pounds on each limb, 500 laps with 110 pounds on each limb.

With the pace she had set herself at she was hoping to be able to become a warrior a lot younger than she had before. Then she could test herself properly.

By her 5th month of training she did 2500 swings with 500 pounds on each limb 800 laps with 500 pounds on each limb.

By the 9th month it was 7000 swings with 900 pounds of weight on each limb and 1300 laps with 900 pounds of weight.

Finally, by her 12th and hopefully last month of training, she did 10,000 swings with 1500 pounds on each limb and 2000 laps, again, with 1500 pounds on each limb.

Thankfully somewhere down the line around the 3rd month she had gotten quite good at yoki manipulation and had been able to create seals that act as weights so she didn't have to carry it around manually.

Currently she found herself lined up along with the other trainees as a test to see if anyone was ready to receive their emblem.

At this time Clare was a bit on the tall side with butt length straight blond hair with glowing silver eyes and a pale complexion.

The leader of the organization, Rimato, suddenly stepped forward in front of the 67 children here. "You have all been here for one year training and getting stronger. Today is a chance to prove that strength. Each one of you will fight a single yoma and, depending on the time and skill used to kill it, if you are able to kill it that is, you will be able to fight against a warrior of your choice for a chance of earning that warriors rank."

With that said he stepped back and a large wall opened in front of them showing a large forest. Rubel stepped forward next. " When signalled you are all to find and slay a yoma inhabiting this forest. This test is optional for now. Stay where you are when the signal is given if you wish not to take part but you have to do it next time." A beep was heard and everyone shot out into the woods to start the hunt.

The older people running the show sighed. Seems as though no one was being chucked out this year. With that thought Rimato turned to stare at the pair of awakened beings staring at the forested area.

Turning away seemed to be a mistake. A sword was drew and a gurgle was heard. Spinning around they all came face to face with Clare with her sword in her hand as the awakened beings in front of her fell back... Headless.

"I have done my part of the test." Clare stated in a matter of fact-like tone. She pointed behind them and, upon turning around, saw three separate yoma pilled on top of one another, all missing their heads.

Turning to Rimato she bowed her head slightly before speaking. "You stated that there is a possibility that we could fight a warrior, I would like to if at all possible." She said with a blank face in a monotonous voice.

"And you are?" Rubel asked even though he already knew so that his leader could be filled in. "I am trainee number 12, Clare" with a nod she turned and left knowing she wasn't going to get an answer out of the man at this time.

It wasn't until nightfall that she was visited again. Rubel stood in the doorway of her cell/room and beckoned her to follow him. Getting up silently, grabbing her sword along the way, she walked with a cat-like grace as she followed the man in black or her soon to be handler, hopefully.

She was soon led to a small room that was above the room she was in earlier. In that room there were 47 people all dressed similarly but all different in some way or another.

After being led into the room Clare looked around and found about 12-13 other trainees in the room. Staring down below she searched the crowd and found quite a few familiar faces.

Miria, Deneva, Helen, Tabatha, Cynthia, Ophelia, Alicia, Beth and Galatea where among the ones she spotted. They all mostly looked the same but with a few minor differences, like height.

Rimato took that moment to speak. "Today you are gathered to possibly fight against one of the trainees that have passed their first trial with flying colours. This is their last test before becoming warriors. They will pick one of you to fight and if they win they get your rank and you are pushed down a rank." Confusion and slight anger radiated off the warriors auras as they realised they could be demoted if they're not careful.

With that said and done the trainees where led to the room full of warriors. They where set in a line as the warriors all turned to stare with impassive, slightly interested gazes. Clare stared back with an equally impassive gaze.

The fights soon began but so far no one has won their match so no one has gained their rank. So far 7 have fought. One against Tabatha, three against Rafaela and three against some other un-named warriors.

Soon enough she was called. She opened her eyes to show she had acknowledged her call. Pushing off the wall she pulled her blade out of the ground and walked towards the lined up warriors. Skipping past most of them she soon came to a halt in front of their current number 1, Alicia.

Nodding at her slightly she walked towards the centre of the room soon followed by Alicia. Both stared at each other impassively while the warriors around them smirked slightly thinking she was just a cocky brat and thought she was gonna get her ass handed to her.

A drop of water fell from the ceiling and hit the floor and then it began. Both disappeared from view and metal hitting metal was heard. They were both blurs as they continued to clash. All onlookers watched in awe as a so called trainee was matching against their top fighter.

This clashing went on for a while longer before they silently decided to up the game. Alicia's eyes gained a golden colour with black slits as pupils. Clare channelled yoki through her body and silently disabled her weights by 500 pounds. Their speed was equally matched by the other.

To others around them they realised it was a battle of wills now. Who's ever was the strongest would win. Deciding enough was enough Clare fully disabled all weight seals and sprung forwards, her eyes turning gold as she flew through the air. Clare was bringing her sword down for a death blow and Alicia saw this. Bringing up her blade and steadying it with her free hand she braced herself for impact. When their blades connected a loud screech of metal echoed off the walls.

Everyone in the room squeezed their eyes shut when an explosion of dust followed and then... dead silence. It was almost deafening and maddening all at the same time. The dust cloud that was kicked up was clearing extremely slowly.

Soon enough through they were able to make out two distinct forms. One on their back, one with their sword to the fallen ones neck. As it cleared the picture in front of the lot of them made the all gasp.

Their number 1 was laying on her back with her eyes closed and blood leaking slowly down her face unconscious. Above her was none other than Clare with a very slight smirk on her lips. "I win" she stated in a calm tone before turning and leaving having done what she wanted.

Later that day, all of the warriors where forced to go back to their respective territories even after all the excitement. Rimato smirked slightly when he thought of how everyone now has to be demoted to make place for their new number 1. It was almost unheard of to receive a single ranking after just a year of training but she was Teresa's legacy so it was to be expected.

A short time later Clare was presented with her emblem. It was like her old one but with diagonal bars on each of the outer prongs and a straight, short horizontal bar on the middle prong. She, as she expected from defeating Alicia, was awarded with the rank of number 1. If she wanted to keep her rank then she would have to prove herself in the first few months. Oh well... Not much she could do about that. At least she would be able to test her skills and techniques on yoma now.

* * *

 **1 and a ¼ year time skip – Unknown city –**

* * *

Clare had just finished up with another hunt for an awakened being. It had been fun. Just her and Galatea. Now that had finished up she headed towards a vaguely familiar town. It had been by her own request that she be added to the team sent on this mission although the even Rimato couldn't figure out why she wanted to go.

Her appearance had changed quite a bit over the year. Deciding to honour Alicia after she was demoted, she now wore an all black skin tight body suit and black armour. Her claymore remained the same just with a slightly different symbol. Her hair was just past her butt and she still had her unblemished pale complexion. Her armour was styled so it allowed very flexible, extremely fast movements. Her eyes where, of course, still silver but had taken on a slightly purple tint to them.

Yup, that's right. She was going to kill the male awakened being. This mission, in her previous time line, had been done a few years after this as it took her a longer time to gain her rank and emblem.

Walking at a leisurely pace, she headed towards the large brick wall surrounding the village and jumped over it with little to no effort and continued to walk. She was soon interrupted by Ermita who beckoned her to follow in which she did.

She was soon ushered inside came face to face with her past family figures. Though she hid her happiness under a mask of indifference. Stepping forward to join the group she was not surprised when Miria stepped forward to reprimand her.

"You're late. We all arrived a little over three days ago." Miria said in a cold tone. In her mind Clare smirked slightly, instantly whipping up a witty reply. "I am not late. You are merely early" she stated in a blunt tone. In the corner of the room she heard Helen snicker slightly and Deneve cracked a small smile.

Sighing Miria turned and sat back down. "Alright now we are all, I want you all to tell of any experience you've had with these creature and tell us your rank... My name is Miria and I rank number 6 in the organisation. This will be my eighth hunt for an awakened being." She turned to Helen.

"The name's Helen, I'm ranked number 22 and I don't have any experience hunting these creatures" Then it was Deneve's turn.

"My name is Deneve and I am ranked number 15 and this will be my second hunt for an awakened being" After that they all turned to Clare. She stared right back impassively.

"My name is Clare. My rank is 47." With that she walked out leaving a slightly stunned group. Helen immediately began complaining and mocking her because of her so called incapability at handling this mission.

Soon enough they were all up and leaving the gate towards the mountains. She had to listen to Helen's constant insults but she decided to ignore them in favour of thinking about the mission. She could feel Miria's gaze practically burning a hole into her skull. It was obvious she was suspicious about her introduction. She wondered if the reigning number 6 would be able to realise it was here before she revealed herself.

Stopping that thought she remembered she had a yoki appearance seal on. Basically it was a seal that allows a very thin undetectable layer of yoki to rest over her skin and change things in her appearance to what she wanted it to.

Right now her symbol was the same as it was in the previous timeline and her armour looks like the standard one with the normal colour. Her hair was short and her eyes where a normal silver. On top of that she actually looked tall. Around their height instead of her child like height.

Nightfall seemed to come quite quickly and they where all resting in a cave on the mountain. Just as she was falling into a meditative like state her hand flew up and caught her claymore with her eyes still closed.

Opening them she stood as Miria was about to tell her she wanted to test the teams capabilities. Walking out into the rain she held her blade pointing diagonally towards the ground to her left.

"Why'd you need to test me? Isn't my ranking enough for you?" She asked seriously.

Miria's eyes narrowed and an almost calculative looked entered her eyes. "To be honest, I'm having a hard time believing that that's your rank. When I first saw you, I thought I was looking at the most powerful person alive." She answered to which Clare raised an eyebrow but said no more and prepared for battle.

The fighting stance she took looked somewhat familiar to Miria but she just shrugged it off as a freakish coincidence. Just as she got into her own stance, Clare shot forward and she just barely moved her sword in time to block the other's.

Quickly realising that Clare had the upper hand in muscle strength, Miria jumped back, landing in a crouch. As quick as lightning, she appeared in front of Clare with her blade above her head, ready to bring it down for a strike to the slightly shorter blonde's head.

The supposed rank 47 blocked swiftly and threw her back with enough force that Miria nearly lost her grip on her sword but she held fast.

Then it happened.

One second she was preparing for another attack and the next second she found herself on her back with a sword at her neck. Clare had used just enough strength to take Miria's claymore out of the equation before kicking her away from it and putting her into a position where she would have to surrender.

Her's and the other two warrior's minds flashed back to when their current number one was crowned. She had basically done the exact same thing with Alicia that the current rank 47 had done with Miria.

Miria briefly wondered if she could actually be their number one but she quickly rid herself of that thought.

Last time she checked number one was a small child in appearance but in strength she was said to be even stronger than the old number one, Teresa of the Faint Smile, the Alicia's and the current number one's predecessor .

The centre of her thoughts brought her out of her musings with a sigh. "Do you yield, captain?" She asked in a tone that was laced with boredom.

Nodding after a quick glance towards her sword, Clare moved away and went back into the cave that they'd decided to set up camp in.

Helen and Deneve quickly rushed to my aid but all I could do was stare at the back of the most mysterious warrior she'd ever met up until this point.

* * *

 **Next morning –**

* * *

Clare had woken at her usual 4am and had been training since she woke up. Around 5am she heard footsteps and turned in time to see Deneve lean against the rocky cliff behind her with her arms crossed.

Deciding she wasn't important she sat on the ground with her legs crossed and began to meditate to regulate her yoki flow and to sense the area around them.

She had just stretched her yoki around the area when she noticed her sister figure. On the outside she suddenly gained a smirk.

Deneve was about to question it before she heard more footsteps approaching. She didn't react because she thought it was either Helen or Miria.

What she didn't expect however was a tall pale blond with a symbol she didn't recognize to appear.

Before she could react though the previously meditating Clare spoke up.

"How have you been since the last mission, Galatea? And what are you doing here?" she questioned in an airy tone with an underlying of warning.

Galatea simply smiled before replying. "If you want it bluntly fine. The organization wanted me to watch and report this mission to a messenger from afar. But I decided to come pay you a visit instead."

Grinning internally she replied with a stonic nod before walking away to a tree where a small bottle of water sat.

Turning to the side she saw Deneve leave. Her expression became serious.

Leaning forward slightly she spoke. "So what is it you really want...?"

* * *

 **Authors note – Oh what does she really want. To tell you the truth I have actually forgotten. I dont know why I am posting three new stories when I need to update my other ones... Oh well. I NEED SLEEP!**

 **Hope to see ya next time kittens! xxx**


	2. Chapter 2 - Hiding in Plain Sight

**The Silver Empress -**

* * *

 **Nagisa – I've finally decided to use the date after over a year of silence on this story!**

 **I'm currently about to start my GCSEs so I haven't really been focused on updating my stories.  
Without further ado, on with the story! **

**Quick note, these are the single digit rankings for my story.**

 _ **1 – Clare**_

 _ **2 – Alicia**_

 _ **3 – Beth**_

 _ **4 – Galatea**_

 _ **5 – Raphaela**_

 _ **6 – Miria**_

 _ **7 – Ophelia**_

 _ **8 – Flora**_

 _ **9 – Jean**_

 **Disclaimer – Nagisa Maeda doesn't own Claymore.**

* * *

 _Last Time -_

* * *

 _Galatea simply smiled before replying. "If you want it bluntly fine. The organization wanted me to watch and report this mission to Ermita from afar. But I decided to come pay you a visit instead."_

 _Grinning internally she replied with a stoic nod before walking away to a tree where a small bottle of water sat._

 _Turning to the side, she watched Deneve leave. Her expression became serious.  
Leaning forward slightly she spoke. "So what is it you really want...?"_

* * *

 **Chapter 2 –**

* * *

A small smirk passed over the usually serene face of Galatea. "Still can't anything from you, can I?" She said, her tone easily portraying her amusement.

Her expression quickly melted away into her usual stoic face although her eyes showed her seriousness.

"The Organisation is trying to kill off the team you're on this mission with. All three of them have somehow managed to surpass their yoki limits and yet none of them have awakened. They are currently considered dangerous abnormalities that need to be rid of. It doesn't help that the lot of them are all trouble makers in their own right, Miria more than the other two." She said calmly although her tone held a slight sharp edge.

It wasn't common knowledge but most of the single digits all got along fairly well, ranks 1-6 in particular although ranks 1, 4 and 6 got along better considering that ranks 2, 3 and 5 were pretty quiet and kept to themselves. They still got along though. Thinking on that fact suddenly made her wonder if Miria will act on her suspicions of her later. With a mental shrug, she turned back to Galatea.

Thinking back to a couple of months ago, Clare remembered when Miria had nearly been caught snooping around the organisations records and would have been in deep trouble had she not stepped in and diverted Rimato who had been near them for whatever reason.

Galatea stared at her young superior to try and gauge her reaction. Her eyes narrowed slightly as different emotions flashed through the younger girl's silver orbs. Sadness. Anger. Hatred. Familiarity and... Understanding?

"However... You already knew that didn't you? Is that why you requested to be put on this mission in particular? Because you felt some sort of connection...? With them being like you and all." She asked and Clare's eyes widened considerably.

Seeing her obvious shock, she chuckled lightly. "Honestly Clare, my yoki sensing ability is unmatched and you expect me to not feel the huge spike of yoki originating from your territory? I was surprised, I'll admit. You'd never been noted to use your yoki at all and then you suddenly release enough to awaken. You didn't think I wouldn't find that suspicious?" she asked rhetorically and Clare cheeks dusted a light pink under her gaze.

It might have seemed weird for the young number 1 to act so expressively but Clare had decided to not be as blank as she was in her past lifetime. It was easier to gain people's trust that way. She shrunk back after a moment and fidgeted a bit.

Galatea chuckled at her reaction. "Oh my, did you forget? I know you have an uncanny ability to hide your yoki and sense others but, like I said before, I _am_ the best at sensing yoki from far distances." She spoke, her voice clearly hinting at her amusement at her sister in all but blood's absent mindedness.

Clare nodded after a moment. Internally, she was laughing her ass off. She'd never thought she'd be that close to the reigning number 3 but here she was. She had to admit though, it was... Nice, this bond that she shared with her fellow single digits.

Galatea didn't seem to notice her moment of being spaced out and if she did then she didn't mention it. Snapping out of her little daze, the sound of approaching footsteps drew the pair's attention towards the way in which Clare had arrived.

The yoki signature was quickly identified. Miria.

Clare turned back to the taller warrior and smiled. "You should probably head back to Ermita. He might become suspicious if you're late to meeting up for your _mission_. I'll deal with Miria. But, I warn you now, I'll probably end up telling them about this mission's purpose. There would be no point in leaving them in the dark at this point." She said seriously to which Galatea felt herself straighten in unintentionally.

The usual serene smile was gone and in its place was the borderline murderous expression of their reigning number one. "I will _not_ let them die." She practically growled out, her tone holding an edge of... _protectiveness_? The sudden protectiveness of the strangers confused Galatea but she pushed it away for now and turned to leave.

"... Very well then." Was the last thing that was said between them before the reigning number 3 disappeared in a burst of speed.

Miria ran into the clearing a few seconds later and looked around with sharp eyes. They quickly landed on Clare who was already looking at her. Their eyes met and the supposed leader of the mission raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain?" Miria asked sharply. Clare blinked and a confused frown formed on her lips. She tilted her head to the side.

"What ever do you mean, Mirai?" She asked, quick to mask her amusement as confusion as to not arouse more suspicion from her fellow single digit.

Miria stared at her for a few more moments before sighing and dropping her shoulders slightly. "We will talk about this later. You're not off the hook, 47." She said seriously.

"Anyway, we were leaving. Get ready to leave. If you aren't there when we are ready then we'll leave without you. We should reach our destination in a few hours."

Clare gave a mock salute before grabbing her sword.

Miria turned to leave but cast a quick glance over her shoulder as she moved.

' _The resemblance between this one and number one are uncanny... What relation do the two share...?'_ The resident 'leader' of the mission wondered and frustration began to build within her

' _What am I missing here? Something's missing and for the life of me I can't figure out what it is... Damn.'_ Miria huffed slightly in annoyance before storming off. She was completely unaware of Clare's amused grin as she continued watching her from her position.

* * *

As soon as she was far enough away she set about putting on her armour. As soon as that was done, Clare set about a leisurely pace despite being able to feel that they'd left without her... Probably on Helen's suggestion despite her knowing that Miria was actually fairly patient.

They'd probably arrive before her at this rate...

With that in mind Clare suddenly sped up until everything she was passing was a mere blur.

' _Maybe if I get there early enough I can scare the poor bastard to death!'_ The slightly nutty leader of the Claymores thought excitedly.

The sun had only just begun to set when the other three on her team arrived in the area. She had been entertaining herself by sitting on a part of the cliff where she had a good view of their disguised target and sending large, sharp bursts of yoki directly at him.

' _Although... Now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all... Probably put the other three on edge...'_

Glancing down at the pathetic awakened being below her, she grinned as a slight tremor racked its body upon her setting eyes on it again.

' _Oh well... Totally worth it.'_ She thought with a small happy sigh.

It was just then that the click of metal on rock caught her sharp hearing.

"Wow... Sure took them long enough" Clare mussed quietly while leaning on her hands while her elbows rested on her knees.

She planned to see how they faired on their own before she did anything. Her mission _was_ to observe the fight and ensure no outside disturbances but she'd never been one to follow orders nor had the organization ever really cracked down on her misbehaviour which gave her a lot of freedom.

Helen's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Wow! So 47 decided to run away after all! Guess it's for the best though! We don't need some weakling holding us back." Helen's arrogance was almost palpable and she had to repress another sigh.

Deneve and Miria both stayed silent although her favourite phantom still looked to be contemplating her current predicament.

"Hey!" A male voice cut through the silence like a knife. The being began its advance towards her fellow warriors.

"I'm the one that called you ladies out here. My village is just north of this mountain range. If you'd like to follow m-"

He was cut off by a narrow eyed Miria who, surprising the two with her, whipped out her claymore and took a fast swing at their supposed client.

No matter how fast she reacted, whatever they were facing was obviously faster.

The man jumped up as his features contorted and two horns sprouted on either side of his forehead. His eyes became a familiar gold with a slit pupils. Along with all this he grew larger and sprouted several new limbs, an armour seemingly growing around the region of his neck.

Helen gaped in disbelief.

"No way... A male awakened being?!" She exclaimed while jumping forward as Miria suddenly hit the ground knees first as blood spurted out of her two new gashes on her shoulders, her armour completely sliced through.

The beast let out a vicious growl as it grinned at them manically from above as it attached itself to the cliff side.

"But how? How could there possibly be a male awakened being?" She asked quietly but everyone heard it.

Its mouth opened a little wider as it let its tongue hang out of its mouth a bit.

"Here it comes!" was the only warning any of them got before it's tongue darted forward at a much faster speed than any of the three had imagined.

Miria's eyes widened as she followed its path, her head snapping sideways so fast she thought she heard a crack.

"Watch yourselves!" The wounded leader shouted but she was too late.

Not even a second later the beast's tongue tore away a good chunk of Deneve's torso.

A strangled cough left the warrior before her body fell backwards into the river down below, a big shot of blood following her down.

"Deneve!" Helen exclaimed, eyes wide as she stared at the spot where the warrior once stood before her gaze snapped back to the awakened being as it retracted its elongated tongue with Deneve's missing arm going with it.

As soon as it was in reach the monster sunk its jagged teeth into the flesh and kept it in his mouth for a moment.

Grunting in disgust, the awakened being spat the arm out and it landed not far from the pair on the cliff edge.

"Ugh, that tasted foul." He grunted out, his voice echoing within the mountain range.

Miria and Helen could only watch in horror as it happened.

His last act set Helen off almost immediately.

Giving a loud, enraged shout she shot forwards, up towards the beast. With a mighty swing her sword connected to... The mountain?!

The awakened faded from his previous spot and Helen's frazzled nerves didn't help her with pinpointing his location.

This didn't stop Miria though.

"Helen, above you!" She shouted desperately.

And she was right. He had attached himself higher on the mountain side and barely gave them a second to think as he rushed back down at an amazing speed.

"He's too fast! Get out now!" And that she did. Jumping back, Helen landed not far from Miria but it only seemed to be getting quicker.

Their captain's voice cut through Helen's musing.

"Behind you!"

Helen turned just in time to see that he had shot his long ass tongue towards her again. She barely dodged, it grazing the edge of her face as she jumped to the side.

Cursing her luck, she growled at the beast in annoyance as it continued to look at the with upmost amusement, blood slowly dripping down her chin from the cut in her cheek.

Growing worried for the teams chances of survival at this point, a grunt left Helen's lips as her eyes turned golden to match the beast's as she began to draw upon her yoki.

Without so much as a warning her arm shot out, extending to incredible lengths as they twisted through the awakend's arm.

Supporting her stretched arm with her free hand, it was Helen's turn to grin viciously.

"That's really too many arms... It's really quite disgusting! But don't worry, I'll take care of it for you!" and with one final grunt she yanked her arm back.

As her arm retracted several of the monster's arms followed along with it, all of them being sliced off by Helen's precise slices.

Grinning victoriously at the awakened being's loss of arms, it fell as the flesh began to bulge and distort, it soon knitting itself back together.

Before they were even fully healed he aimed them forward towards a recovering Helen and shot them all towards her.

A raging shout followed before a sword as Deneve once again ascended onto the battlefield.

Landing in front of Helen, she grit her teeth as her skin and muscles literally healed right before their eyes.

"You're still alive!" Their leader exclaimed, relief could be heard lacing her voice but they paid no mind.

Miria's gaze fell on the rapidly healing arm of her comrade.

"I hope your rotten flesh is _burning_!" The glaring number fifteen bit out.

' _I thought she was dead... Her rate of regeneration is unbelievable! I can't believe her entire arm has almost regrown...'_ Miria thought, amazed by the rapid regenerative ability of her comrade.

Her gaze quickly fell on Helen, more specifically her arms.

' _Helen's ability to lengthen her arms is a very advanced technique and now... Looking at the design of her armour, I'm willing to bet that her legs have the same attributes.'_

Her gaze quickly fell to the rocky ground.

' _Both of these abilities would usually push any warrior to their limits but these two do it as if it's second nature to them. I hope it's enough to defeat this creature...'_

Finally getting to her feet, her thoughts were interrupted by Helen once again.

At this point the creature's arms had almost completely regrown, small spurts of purple blood following as they continued to regrow.

"We're gonna have to take his head. We could hack at his arms all day and it would make any difference." Helen groaned at even the thought of her own revelation.

* * *

At the very edge of the mountain range sat a man covered entirely in black robes and next to him stood a familiar warrior with long, straight hair.

"Tell me.." The deep voice of Ermita began. He turned to look at the mountains as he spoke.

'What are you sensing?" He asked curiously.

Galatea sighed inaudiably as she took a quick survey of the area.

"I sense an abundance of yoki auras. Two are average, one is larger and more powerful than the others and the last is about double the power of the biggest one. The final one is enormous that clearly trumps the others." She replied stoically.

"That's our awakened being!" His tone held the tiniest bit of glee but she didn't dare question it.

"Actually, to be more precise, it's a male awakened being, Galatea." He spoke after a few moments of silence.

Galatea's eyes widened but that was all the outward reaction she gave.

"Did you say a male?" she turned her gaze back to the wide space before her.

' _But he wasn't quite right. There are four warriors and an awakened being but... The awakened being isn't the strongest one I can sense. He's forgetting about her power levels it seems.'_ Galatea mused in amusement.

* * *

Helen still hadn't seemed to grasp the situation quite yet.

"How can we be dealing with a male awakened being? I thought there could only be female warriors who happened to surpass their limits..." she trailed off.

Taking her chances she tried once again to hit the creature but he dogged only to be met with Miria's attempt however she also missed.

The ground trembled as they both once again landed on solid ground.

"The organization are to blame for these monsters. In the beginning they made male warriors." Miria informed, keeping her eyes trained on the being as it stared them down.

Helen took a sharp intake of air as she locked eyes with her captain over her shoulder.

"I've never heard that." She admitted bluntly.

" _ **Claymore...**_ " The awakened mumbled loudly.

* * *

"That is true. In the beginning there were both male and female warriors but over time the males proved to be complete failures." He chuckled a little.

"No that's not right. The males weren't failures at all. In fact they were quite valuable assets to us. The problem was the males reached their limits far too quickly..." He explained.

"You see, awakening is very similar to sexual pleasure. The more the males drew on their yoki, the harder they found it to suppress the overwhelming urge to awaken. After that there was no choice but to stop the production of male warriors." He finished.

"Let me guess, after all that all that was left for them was to wander the earth as voracious eaters?" She asked but it sounded more like a statement.

Ermita nodded as the fighting continued down below them.

"That is correct." He stated simply before falling silent.

* * *

"And since the male warriors were bound to awaken, they only produced females after that. I can't believe that none of you have ever been briefed of this information..." Miria muttered in annoyance.

A dark chuckle echoed from the awakened being after her little speech.

" _ **Haha... Not bad. But there's one part of the story that you neglected to cover."**_ His rough voice was brimming with untold amounts of amusement at that moment.

Miria looked at him curiously. "I left something out?"

" _ **Indeed and frankly I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Being how smart you are... You still haven't figured out why you**_ _ **specifically**_ _ **were sent to hunt me down."**_

Miria's eyes widened and she stopped dead in her tracks, looking back uncertainly over her shoulder, her mind briefly wandering to the fourth warrior that had been with the originally.

' _Were we all chosen for a reason...?'_ She thought, her brain drawing a blank as to what the connection may be between them.

The awakened being chuckled at her reaction. " _ **Something seems to be bothering you**_ " He pointed out with a large grin.

Miria's glare returned tenfold. "You bastard!"

* * *

From her perch Galatea let out a small gasp.

"What's wrong"

"I sense a deep uncertainty in the auras. We should move closer. It's hard to gauge them from here." She said, more like suggested but Ermita quickly shot it down.

"We can't. If we get any closer they'll know we've been watching them. You're the only one I know who can sense yoki from this distance, as was the reason you were summoned." Ermita sighed.

Galatea spared him a quick glance. "Something doesn't seem right somehow." She answered quietly.

* * *

Back with the group of hunters, the awakened being let out a loud sigh, a cloud of cold air following.

" _ **Alright then... I believe now is as good a time as any.. I think you need a taste... Of what true despair can bring you.**_ " His voice had taken on a slightly more growl-like tone.

Each of the warriors prepared their weapons as the creature began to move as if the run.

From her perch above the group, Clare could only grimace as to what was coming next.

Within the second the beast disappeared from his spot and began to charge way too quickly for something of his size.

"All of you stay back!" Miria warned but wasn't quick enough to stop the being's arm from slamming through Deneve's stomach leaving a hole in her torso.

Blood ran up her throat and quickly passed her pale lips as she fell to the ground on her front.

"You bastard!" Helen roared, her arm extending but her anger clouded her aim and she missed again, the creature disappearing once again...

Only to reappear behind a shocked Helen. The creature wasted no time before it ran a claw roughly down Helen's back along her spine.

Coughing up some blood, she too quickly fell to the monster's show of his so called despair.

Miria could only stand frozen as the last of her comrades fell to the ground helpless.

" _ **True despair as promised.**_ _**Well,**_ _**what do you think?**_ " He asked simply.

Miria was still too shocked.

"Damn you. This must stop.. _It has to!_ " Her voice broke slightly as she watched the pools of blood around the fallen pair expand little by little.

" _ **You know, it's too bad. I'm sure you're one of the very best Claymores. You are perceived, clever. But a true warrior needs more that strength. In order to thrive you must be intelligent and resourceful."**_ He seemed to pause for a moment before continuing.

" _ **But then again a warrior can be too clever and if you're not careful it can also get you killed."**_

"What are you? When were you a claymore?" Miria questioned despite knowing it was unlikely that she'd receive the truth.

" _ **I am exactly what you said I was. I am a monster formed from a male Claymore years ago. Nothing more. Nothing less. I kill all of the warriors sent to me... Of course not without a fight. I simply do what I must in order to survive.**_ "

"Then I will do what I must as well." She answered shortly.

With that said his fingers elongated and shot towards her at an impressive speed and pierced her only for what appeared to be Miria to disappear.

"An... Illusion?" He questioned himself aloud.

Miria appeared a second later, running past him with Deneve on her shoulder. She quickly set her down.

' _Her stomach is beginning to regenerate. The wound is very deep. Her chances of survival are uncertain at this point. Looks like I'm on my own.'_ She thought as the beings dark chuckled brought her attention back to him.

" _ **Is this really the time to be concerning yourself with their safety. I think... You should give me a bit of a fight before I rip you limb from limb!**_ " He shouted but his attack once again phased through her as she disappeared again.

As she reappeared again he jumped towards her ready to attack at a moments notice.

" _ **I WILL END YOUR EXISTANCE!**_ " He shouted again but she once again disappeared and laid Helen next to Deneve.

The girl let out a pained moan as her back was jolted.

' _Helen's back is badly damaged. It's unlikely she'll be much help in this fight. Her chance of survival is minimal...'_ She thought though was saddened by her teams condition.

" _ **Hehe I get it now. You can only do it for a moment but you're capable of incredible speed. I'm willing to bet you're one of the fastest warriors in the organization. Very impressive, Claymore... Seems you've certainly earned that single digit ranking. To the naked eye the effect looks like a ghost. Must be why they give you that name**_ " He trailed off as he looked at her again.

She turned her body slightly and pinned him with a glare that could freeze hell over a thousand times.

" _ **I believe it was Phantom Miria.**_ "

He chuckled again as she appeared to get even angrier.

" _ **It is a great technique. Question is, how long will it work against me, Claymore?**_ " He asked rhetorically.

Miria's eyes turned golden as she accessed her yoki in response to her anger.

He chuckled again. " _ **Let's find out together!**_ "

Miria immediately charged towards him.

" _ **Oh my, are you mad? Charging into your honourable death, how heroic.**_ "

Miria ignored him as she began to flash all over the place, landing several hits while all of his had missed so far.

Helen tried to get up but coughed up some more blood as a result. "Damn, she's good. I don't get it. If she's been able to do that all this time then why did she wait until now to pull it out?" She asked but of course there was no one there to answer her.

A loud smash made her jump and curse in pain.

Peering over at the battle, fear seized her body as she saw the scene.

The awakened being had managed to catch Miria and now had her pinned to the ground.

" _ **I got you... It was impressive how long you lasted but you could only keep it up for so long. All I had to do was wait for you to reach your limit to move in for the kill.**_ " He growled out as his tongue extended and moved towards Miria's struggling body.

Not allowing her any time to prepare for pain, the creature plunges his tongue into her stomach with brutal force.

Miria's screams pierced through the air like a hot knife. The monster held her as she struggled and coughed up copious amounts of crimson blood that stained the mountain path while the awakened being continued to dig his tongue around her stomach as if trying to prolong her suffering as much as possible.

"That's it... I don't get what he meant. He promised us true despair and he has!" she cried as the pain of her injuries slowly became too much.

As the screams continued a soft click of metal on rock reached Helen's ears and her head shot around only to come face to face with...

"No! RUN AWAY 47! HE'S TOO MUCH FOR YOU!" Helen screamed before falling as her back gave out and the pain became too much.

Clare's face was blank of all emotion as she walked slowly towards the beast that held her most precious person to the ground.

The beast looked over at the shouts of Helen. " _ **47 ay? Well, looks like the weakest one wants to play with me!**_ " He retracted his tongue back into his mouth as he turned his full attention to his new play thing only to stop second later.

" _ **No. Y-You! What're you doing!? Stay away!"**_ The awakened being shrieked as she suddenly shot forward at amazing speeds that rivalled Miria's if not faster.

"Oh my, but it seems to be a bad day for you. You injured my comrades you see and for that..." She appeared right above in front of the creature and smirked.

"You pay with your life." She said, an innocent smile on her lips.

The unnerved awakened being growled.

" _ **No! I WILL NOT DIE BY THE HANDS OF YOU!**_ " He declared as all of the finders on all of his extra arms shot towards her at break neck speeds.

Purple blood rained over the area around the mysterious number 47 as sliced fingers now fell to the floor in abundance.

She continued forwards and it was at this point that they noticed. She hadn't even drawn her blade yet there were shredded body parts on he ground.

"Happy death day for you!" She said innocently before the monster's head exploded in a shower of purple blood but... Not even a single drop landed on her.

Turning to face her injured comrades she couldn't help but laugh at their gaping expressions.

"Close your mouths before you catch flies. By the way, we should probably move to somewhere where you lot can rest." She didn't take no for an answer either and quickly moved them all to the large ledge that they were on the last time these events played out in her original time line.

Miria quickly finished checking over Deneve before she got to her feet.

* * *

Galatea's eyes widened as more information was relayed to her. "They've.. Killed the awakened being." She confirmed and she watched as a look of shock washed over Ermita's only visible feature, his eyes.

"Are you certain?"

She looked him over suspiciously. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"Of course. I was just taken by surprise. You see that was an exceptionally powerful awakened being." He replied quickly and she shrugged.

"How many survived?" He asked after a moment.

Concentrating for a moment, she replied. "All but one survived. If the last one lives then she's very weak. Too weak for me to sense anyway."

They began to leave shortly after that and Ermita somehow managed to forget that there were two single digits on that team even if one of them wasn't technically allowed to join the fight.

* * *

Back with Miria, Clare was currently being pinned with Miria's death glare.

Laughing at the look, she grinned. "Just what is that look, Miria dear?" Clare asked casually only to get a bonk on the head.

"Owie... You're so mean Ria..." And there was the final nail in the coffin. Time to go to her grave.

Ria was something she called the reigning number 6 when she was in her normal form.

"Back to your normal form. Now." Miria's voice was deathly calm as she spoke. To be honest though, she was kinda glad she'd realised who she was because being the wrong height can get confusing when fighting a lot.

Not wanting to get on Miria's bad side, she cast a quick glance at a confused Helen and the unconscious Deneve before sighing and letting the yoki covering her skin fade.

The pair then got to watch the once tall woman shrink into a smaller form, her hair becoming longer until it reached just past her rear.

Her armour changed from the standard and over and grey to black and her emblem changed back to normal.

A pout rested on her face at the complete exasperation on Miria's face.

Poking her index fingers together cutely she laughed awkwardly. "Well I'll guess I'll start with introductions..."

She moved back a bit so she could address the pair.

"My name is Clare and I currently hold the ranking of 1. This was my 17th hunt for an awakened being." She said softly, looking over at Helen who's eyes were as wide as saucers by now.

She wondered why she was so silent until one thing rang out.

"NO WAY!" Helen screamed as she gaped at her newly revealed leader.

* * *

 **Nagisa – Yay! I finally updated and it's 6:30am...**

 **I'm so tired right now!**

 **Oh well.**

 **Questions –**

 **IF RAKI WERE TO DIE, HOW WOULD YOU WANT HIM TO DIE?**

 **IF I ADDED A PAIRING INTO THIS STORY, WHO WOULD YOU PAIR CLARE WITH AND IT** _ **CANNOT**_ **BE RAKI!**

 **Thanks for reading**

 **REVIEWERS WILL GET SHOUT OUTS FROM NOW ONWARDS**

 **See ya next time, kittens x**


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